The Panoramic Overview of Rhinoscleroma - A Two-Decade Experience of Nature's Crucification of the Nose.

Rhinoscleroma is a chronic granulomatous disfiguring disease affecting the nose. With its 3 known stages and characteristic histopathological features, the condition is still difficult to treat since its difficult to diagnose many a times. This is a case series of 14 patients who presented to a tertiary care referral hospital over a period of two decades. The spectrum of involvement ranged between presence of nodules in the nostrils to oropharyngeal involvement. Patients were many a times misdiagnosed outside and undergone unnecessary surgeries like septoplasty leading to septal perforation and crusting in the nasal cavities. It is important to be watchful of Rhinoscleroma especially when conventional treatments have failed and avoid unnecessary surgeries in patients. Medical line of management should always precede definitive surgical corrections in order to burn out the active disease. Using the surgical planes helps to release the fibrosis and create adequate space for sinus drainage. Along with patience, a close follow up is needed to monitor recurrence and treat it in time.